From Dr. Ruth and Michael Douglas to Gene Simmons and Mayim Bialik, various Israeli and international artists participated and celebrated Israel in a live stream party for Israel’s Independence Day yesterday (Thursday)
Every year on Yom Haatzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, the Embassy of Israel in Washington hosts a big celebratory gathering.
This year, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the in-person party was turned into a virtual one. After much deliberation, the Embassy decided to host the party virtually and invite some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry to perform and celebrate it.
The idea behind this year’s event was to celebrate 72 years in 72 minutes. Some of the celebrities who joined us included: Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski), Sharon Stone, Mayim Bialik, Michael Douglas, Julian Edelman, Kelsey Grammer, Perez Hilton, NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, Netflix’s “Fauda” actors Lior Raz and Rona-Lee Shimon and many more.
During this live broadcast there were performances by famous Israeli artists such as Ivri Lider, Miri Mesika, David Broza, Marina Maximilian, Shiri Maimon, Ehud Banai, Nasrin Kadri and many more.
There was also a cooking lesson by Michael Solomonov, James Beard Award-winning Israeli chef and restauranteur, and Adeena Sussman, author of the bestselling cookbook "Sababa," who taught viewers how to make amazing Israeli food.
As a part of the celebration, a special recorded tribute to the American medical teams made by their Israeli peers was shown. A special tribute from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) highlighting the security cooperation between Israel and the US was shown as well.
More than 50,000 viewers from across the United States watched the live broadcast. The event was streamed on the Embassy’s social media channels in partnership with the 8 Israeli consulates in the U.S., including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Miami, San Francisco, Chicago and Houston and major Pro Israeli organization.
In his speech, Ambassador Ron Dermer said:
“Here in the United States, Independence Day is also a time for Israel to express its gratitude for the powerful alliance between our two countries. We are grateful for decades of generous military assistance and missile defense cooperation. We are grateful for the economic support that helped Israel weather so many storms. We are grateful for all those times that America stood up for the truth, and rallied to Israel’s defense at the United Nations. And we are grateful that from President Truman to President Trump, the alliance between our two countries has grown stronger and stronger, decade after decade – and that today, it is stronger than ever.”